Draco, Flipside
by Hopelight
Summary: *Chapters 6&7 up!!!* Draco's nice, Hermione's in love, and Harry and Ron are mad at her...uh oh!
1. A Twist of Fate

Whoo! My first HP fic! Yay for me!! 

Ahem. Well, now that I've got my sanity back, I just wanted to say that all of the fantastically talented J.K. Rowling's magnificent Harry Potter books do NOT belong to me, and I don't own any of the major corporations involved with the printing shipping of her books. 

BE WARNED: If ya don't like the thought of Malfoy and Hermione sucking face, steer clear of this fic. 

****

Draco, Flipside

A Twist of Fate

By Hopelight

Professor Severus Snape stalked through the Potions dungeon, surveying the students' work. At the moment, the class was having a double period with the sixth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins mixed together. He paused for a moment by Draco Malfoy's cauldron, patted him on the back, and continued his sweep of the dungeon. 

"Remember, class, only _one_ pint of armadillo bile and _two_ ounces of dragon's blood is needed for the Congeniality Concoction," he reminded them, pausing to shrink Neville Longbottom with his icy gaze. "Be sure to take the cauldron off the fire after it has turned yellow. If it does not turn yellow—" he glanced at Neville again "—you will stay after class and do it again."

Neville heaved a sigh of relief. For once, his potion hadn't eaten through the bottom of the cauldron or turned into the exact opposite of what it was supposed to be. He stirred the thick yellow potion once again, happy that he had finally done the potion right. He went to lift his cauldron off the fire, and—

"Hey Longbottom, watch it!" 

Malfoy and Neville's cauldron collided with a bang. Poor Neville watched in horror as his potion slopped over the edge and spilled onto Malfoy's robes. 

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!" Malfoy screamed, collapsing to the ground in convulsions. 

Neville closed his eyes and groaned. The _one time_ he'd done the potion right, and it was all over Malfoy's robes. It looked like Snape was going to do a lot more than just take points off of Gryffindor or give him detention.

In fact, as Snape ran over to them, he looked like he was ready to impale Neville with his wand. 

"LONGBOTTOM!" he roared. "What have you done, you stupid boy?"

Neville quaked under Snape's furious glare. "P-please, sir," he stammered out. "I-I was just taking my cauldron off the fire…it was an accident…"

"Enough!" Snape reached down and pulled Malfoy to his feet. "Are you all right, Draco?"

Malfoy grinned. "Oh, I feel fine, Professor," he said cheerily. "I just fell down, that's all. _Completely_ my fault. All right there, Neville? Sorry I spilled the potion, buddy. I think you just may have got it right this time. It was yellow, so I guess you didn't screw it up."

All the Gryffindors, as well as the Slytherins, were gaping at Malfoy in open-mouthed shock. This was the first time that he had ever been _remotely_ friendly to another Gryffindor. 

Snape surveyed Malfoy's dripping robes and made a face. "Well, it's yellow," he sighed. "Longbottom did it right, then. So that means you've gotten splashed with the Congeniality Concoction, Malfoy. It's a pity…a pity."

"What's a pity?" Pansy Parkinson called out. "What does congeniality even _mean?_"

Hermione Granger sighed. "Honestly," she sniffed. "It means that Malfoy's being nice. Nice to everyone, as a matter of fact. The Congeniality Concoction is an irreversible potion that will turn someone nice for exactly seven days."

Both Ron Weasley and Harry Potter doubled over laughing when she said this.

"Malfoy? _Nice?_" Lavender Brown shrieked. 

Seamus Finnigan pretended to faint. "It's unnatural!" he yelled, and the Gryffindors dissolved into giggles.

Snape banged Neville's desk. "Enough!" he snapped. "Five points from Gryffindor. Draco, Longbottom, sit back down." He waved his wand, and the mess that the potion had made was cleared away. 

Inside, Neville was shining. Not only had he _not_ gotten in trouble for turning Malfoy nice, he had made his potion right _and_ he had turned Malfoy nice!

"You're JOKING!"

"Way to go, Longbottom!" 

"I can't believe it!" 

Inside the Gryffindor common room, Neville was having the time of his life. He was basking in the glow of their admiration, and he loved it. 

"That's right," he said in a strong, confident voice. "I turned Draco Malfoy nice with the Congeniality Concoction. He has to be like that for a week!"

"Poor Malfoy. I feel sorry for him," Fred Weasley said, snickering. 

"Why?" Ron asked. 

Fred's twin brother George grinned wickedly. "Because being nice is going to _kill_ Malfoy!" he crowed. "Think about it! The bloke's never been nice in his life. Can you imagine what his will do to him?"

Katie Bell giggled. "You're right," she chortled. "I'd love to see him being courteous to the teachers and that. We'd better get Colin Creevey to take some pictures of him so we can laugh about it later!"

They were all tired of discussing Malfoy's situation after a while, so the Gryffindors all went up to bed. After Neville pulled the hangings around his bed, he snuggled under the covers and closed his eyes, looking forward to what promised to be a wonderful day.


	2. Day 1 of 7

Now that Malfoy is good, what will happen to him now? Will the Slytherins turn on him? Will students in the other houses even acknowledge his new predicament? And what the heck do Harry, Ron and Hermione have to do with this? Read on!

****

Draco, Flipside

Day 1 of 7

Through the hallways of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the same four words were being repeated over and over again:

"Longbottom turned Malfoy _nice!_"

The Slytherins were howling in outrage. Not only had a little dork who was practically a Squib shown them up, he'd turned their Seeker into a pansy-boy. On the other hand, the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors were in hysterics over the whole thing.

Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall early the next morning for breakfast. Neville was already seated at the Gryffindor table, beaming like the sun. He was shoving handfuls of Jelly Slugs in his mouth, not caring that there was eggs and waffles for breakfast.

"I've just had an owl from Gran," he said cheerily when they joined him at the table. "She heard that I finally got a potion right and sent me a box of Honeydukes sweets. Good thing she didn't hear that I ended up enchanting Malfoy."

Harry thumped him on the back. "We owe you one, Neville," he grinned. "The first Quidditch match is tomorrow after classes. You think this is going to affect Malfoy's game?"

Ron snickered. He was the Gryffindor team's Keeper, and Harry was the Seeker as well as the captain. "I should ruddy well hope so!" 

"Ten Galleons says Malfoy hands Harry the Snitch," Neville put in.

All three boys doubled over laughing, picturing Malfoy handing over the tiny, golden winged ball to Harry.

__

Boys, Hermione thought disgustedly. She left the table and headed to the library. 

"Here you go, Madam Pince. I thought you might like these."

"Why, Draco! They're lovely!"

"I hope you like them. They're African violets. I heard somewhere that you liked purple, so…"

"Well, I'll just put the pot over here. My, they're beautiful! I can't thank you enough."

"The pleasure's all mine, Madam Pince." 

Hermione turned away from Malfoy and the librarian, sharp-eyed Madam Pince. She just couldn't believe what she'd just seen—_Malfoy had given the librarian flowers._ Potted flowers, true, but they were still flowers. 

"Did I just see that?" Padma Patil asked her twin Parvati, squinting and rubbing her eyes. "Am I having hallucinations?"

"I doubt it, sis."

"I never thought I'd live to see the day. Draco Malfoy actually gave the librarian _flowers!_"

Hermione groaned. If she knew Padma and Parvati as well as she thought she did, this little tidbit was going to spread around school faster than a rash caused by Bubotuber pus. 

She made her way to the back of the library, where the books she would need for her Arithmancy homework would be. No sooner than she had gotten to the shelves, Draco Malfoy himself appeared at her side. Evidently he was searching for a book in the same section.

"Hermione!" he greeted her fondly, like they were friends or something. "How are you?" 

"I'm fine," she said stiffly. "I'm looking for a book to help me with my Arithmancy homework."

He appeared to be interested. "Where is it?" he asked pleasantly.

"It's on row 12, number 543."

Malfoy glanced at a slip of parchment he was carrying in shock. "I don't believe it," he said in wonder. "I'm looking for the same book!"

Hermione almost dropped the stack of books she was carrying. "_You_ take Arithmancy?" she squeaked out. "I had no idea. Professor Vector never mentioned that she taught the Slytherins."

"Only a few of us take it," he admitted. "It's my favourite subject, next to Potions."

"It's my favourite subject too!" she said brightly, forgetting that Malfoy was normally her mortal enemy. 

Just then, Harry and Ron showed up. Both of them stopped in their tracks when they noticed that Hermione and Malfoy were smiling at eachother.

"What are you doing talking to _him?_" Ron snarled. 

Malfoy looked as if he didn't hear him. "Ron! How's it going?" he said, grinning widely. "How's your father? Personally, _I_ think he's going to get promoted sometime, what with all the hard work he's doing. All my Dad really does is sit in an office all day, writing letters."

Ron gaped at him. 

Harry elbowed Ron in the ribs. "If I didn't know that Neville enchanted you, I would think that you'd gone soft in the head," he said. "C'mon, Hermione, Ron." 

With that, he propelled both of his friends out of the library, while Malfoy waved at them cheerily.

"Harry, we were talking about Arithmancy!" Hermione cried shrilly as they entered their Herbology class. "It's not like he was insulting me or something. We were actually having a nice, normal conversation!"

"Right," Ron chortled. "You know, I think this is the first day in ages that Malfoy hasn't called her Mudblood or something."

"Anyway," Hermione said sharply, "I didn't get my book, thanks to you two. The project I'm working on in Arithmancy is due on Tuesday, which is—"

"—next week," Harry finished for her. "Hermione, look. It's Friday. You can get your project done over the weekend like everyone else, can't you?"

She glared at him. "We have Astronomy classes at midnight on Saturday, and I'm tutoring Neville in Potions for most of the weekend anyway. I was hoping that I'd at least get my project done by tomorrow afternoon."

"Yeah, well, you've still got all of Monday evening," Harry put in. "Don't worry about it, Hermione. You'll get it done. You always do."

She sighed and gathered another handful of Tentacula leaves. "I sure hope so."

"He gave Madame Pince flowers, then he asked Madame Hooch if he could help her mend all the Quidditch robes!"

"That's nothing. Did you hear what he did for Filch? He scrubbed out the Potions dungeon, and I swear, the old grump almost had a coronary!"

"You know what else he did?"

Rumours were flying in the Great Hall that evening at dinner. All of them seemed to contain stories about Malfoy doing kind and courteous deeds for the teachers.

Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table, looking downright miserable.

"What's up, Hermione?" Ron managed to ask through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

She sighed heavily. "I went back to the library at lunch to find that book," she said glumly. "It was gone. I'm never going to get that project done!"

Just as she said this, a large tawny owl flew toward her and dropped a heavy parcel into her plate of food. It was covered in gravy and ketchup when she picked it out of her plate, but she didn't care. She tore off the wrapping and let out a cry of astonishment.

"It's my book!" she breathed, running her fingers over the worn, green leather cover. "But who—and how—"

A note fluttered out of the pages. Curious, she picked it up and read it. 

**__**

Dear Hermione,

Here's the book you were looking for. I'm done with it now. 

-Draco


	3. Day 2 of 7

Muahaha. Me likes the whole "nice Malfoy" thing. You don't like? So sue me. J.K. Rowling probably will anyway if I don't claim that she's the mastermind behind this.

****

Draco, Flipside

Day 2 of 7

Bright sunlight streamed into the room, waking Hermione out of a deep sleep. She yawned, stretched, and nearly fell off the chair as she realized that she'd fallen asleep at the table in the common room. The last piece of parchment she'd used was stuck to her face. 

"Argh!" she grumbled, trudging back up to the dormitory.

On the way up, she bumped smack into Harry and Ron, who were on their way down. 

"Ready for breakfast, Hermione?" they asked brightly. 

"Good morning to you, too," she grumped. She had a horrible crick in her neck from the odd angle it had been positioned in at the table all night.

Ron guffawed. "Right ray of sunshine you are this morning!"

"I spent all night on my project," she yawned, running her hand through her bushy hair.

Harry grinned. "Good! I guess that means maybe you can come to Hogsmeade tomorrow afternoon, that is if you're done tutoring Neville by then?"

"Sounds great," she said. "See you guys at breakfast, OK?"

This morning, the Slytherins were looking sulky and angry. All except for Malfoy, who seemingly had a smile affixed permanently to his face.

"What's with the Slytherins?" Hermione asked Harry behind her hand.

He snickered. "They're bitter. They know that Malfoy's going to be playing a fair game of Quidditch this afternoon, so they're busy sulking."

"It's a pity. I hate to take advantage of them like that," Lavender Brown laughed. Lavender was one of the Chasers on the Gryffindor team.

"Well, never mind that," Ron told her. He was the Keeper. "We'll be on the pitch in less than an hour. We'd better go warm up. What say, Captain Harry?"

Harry grinned; it was his first year as captain. "Team! Let's get dressed!" he called out to the Gryffindor team. 

"Good luck!" Hermione called after them as they walked out of the Great Hall.

"Welcome to this year's first Quidditch match!" Colin Creevey, who had taken over Lee Jordan's job, was now doing the commentary for Quidditch. "Today's game is Gryffindor versus Slytherin! On the Gryffindor side, I give you…Potter!"

Harry came flying out onto the pitch, his scarlet robes billowing behind him. 

"Brown!" 

Lavender waved merrily at the crowd as she flew up to Harry. 

"Weasley! Weasley! Finnigan!"

Ron came out next, followed by his sister Ginny and Seamus Finnigan. Ginny was a Chaser, and Seamus was a Beater.

"Patil! Annnnnnddd…_Creevey!_"

Parvati Patil was the third Chaser. Dennis Creevey, Colin's younger brother, was the other Beater. 

Hermione grinned. She would have never believed that little Dennis Creevey would grow to become a Quidditch player.

"And here come the Slytherins!" Colin announced. "Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, Nott, Bulstrode and…Malfoy!" 

Quite a few jeers and boos came from the Slytherin side, as well as the Gryffindors.

"Here comes Madam Hooch…she's released the balls…"

The teams lined up and faced eachother. The Slytherins looked to be especially vindictive. Blaise Zabini, the captain, was fairly foaming at the mouth.

Madam Hooch's whistle sounded. The teams kicked off into the air, and the game began. 

"Brown's got the Quaffle—no, wait, now Bulstrode's got it—back to Brown—Patil…ooh, that was a nasty hit she took with that Bludger, sent her way by Goyle…Parkinson's got the Quaffle—Bulstrode—Nott—YES! Gryffindor take back the Quaffle. It's Brown—Weasley—Patil—back to Weasley, and…GRYFFINDOR SCORE!"

Ginny punched the air triumphantly, only to be nearly knocked off her broom by Millicent Bulstrode. She spiralled around in midair, clutching her broom for dear life. 

"FOUL!" roared the Gryffindors. 

Madam Hooch blew her whistle. "Penalty to Gryffindor!" 

Ginny took the Quaffle and put it away, no problem. The score was now 20-0. 

"And play resumes," Colin continued. "There goes Weasley, streaking up the pitch—the Quaffle's now with Brown—Patil—back to Weasley—back to Patil—OI! CRABBE! THAT'S MY BROTHER!"

Crabbe had just whacked a Bludger straight at Dennis Creevey. The Bludger hadn't hurt him, but Dennis was yelling angrily at Crabbe. Without warning, the Bludger flew right back at Dennis. He instinctively hit it away from him—but he ended up smashing it into Crabbe's broomstick.

The Gryffindors roared with appreciation.

"Now _that's_ what I like to see! Take that, you dirty son of a—"

"CREEVEY! I thought I'd be rid of this kind of biased commentating when Lee Jordan graduated!" 

"Keep your hair on, Professor McGonagall. It's just a Quidditch match!" 

Hagrid plunked himself down next to Hermione at this point, making the whole bench shudder. "Did I miss anything?" he asked, peering though his binoculars.   
  
"Not much," she replied. 

"Must be lonely for yeh," he commented. "What with 'Arry and Ron both playin' Quidditch now, you ain't got nobody to keep yeh company."

"Mmm," Hermione mumbled, her eyes glued to the game. 

"Slytherin in possession. Bulstrode—Nott—Parkinson—back to Bulstrode—Parkinson—Parkinson scores," Colin groaned. "Twenty-ten, Gryffindor in the lead at least."

"Do you want me to start commentating, Creevey?"

"Just doing my job, Professor!"

Ron was looking surly. Hermione couldn't blame him; he was reputed as being one of the best Gryffindor Keepers to ever come to Hogwarts. 

"It's Weasley—Patil—back to Weasely—Brown—Patil—Brown—Weasely—oh no, Nott intercepts the Quaffle…Nott scores…"

Angry hisses came from the Gryffindor spectators. 

The game continued. Eventually, the Gryffindor team managed to score more and more points. About half an hour later and some excellent saves by Ron, the score was 170-20, in favor of Gryffindor.

Colin suddenly yelled, "WAIT! Potter's seen the Snitch!"

Indeed he had. Harry, who had been flying unobtrusively above the game, had seen the tiny golden ball fluttering around the ground. He dove, prepared to catch the Snitch before Malfoy could get his hands on it. 

Malfoy had seen the Snitch too. The two boys raced toward the ground, with Malfoy doing spirals around Harry.

"Malfoy's attempting the Phoenix Dive," Colin informed the crowd. "Very tricky Seeker diversion, that is. It's supposed to get the other Seeker all disoriented…"

Hermione was barely listening to his words. As she watched Malfoy and Harry racing for the Snitch, all she could think was, _That is really beautiful flying. I had no idea Malfoy was so good at it!_

Mere inches from the ground, Malfoy pulled out of his spiral and swept underneath Harry. As he flew away, Harry hit the ground at breakneck speed. There were moans from the Gryffindors as a sharp _crack_ echoed through the stadium.

The cries of delight from the Slytherins were more deafening than the outraged roars from the Gryffindors. Malfoy had finally managed to lay hands on the Snitch while playing against Harry Potter. 

Six scarlet blurs streaked down to where Harry lay on the pitch. Hagrid, who was peering through his binoculars, heaved a huge sigh of relief. 

"He seems to have a broken leg, but he's all right," he grumbled. "Can' believe that you lot tied with the Slytherins…after all that…"

Hermione looked in disbelief at the scoreboard. It was true. The score was 170-170. 

"Unbelievable, that was."

"That maggot! Practically disabled our Seeker!"

"I gotta admit, though, that was some damn good flying."

Back in the Gryffindor common room, there was a small gathering being held. Harry, who had just returned from the infirmary with nothing but a bandage on his leg, was getting through his tenth bottle of Butterbeer, looking utterly infuriated. None of them could believe that they had actually _tied_ a game. It was the first time that it had ever happened in the history of Hogwarts. 

Hermione was sitting near the fire with Parvati, Ron, Harry and Neville. She was barely paying attention to them, remembering the Phoenix Dive. Never in her life had she seen such a beautiful aeronautic stunt, not even when she had seen Victor Krum and Aidan Lynch vying for the Snitch at the Quidditch World Cup. 

After a while, Parvati shook her shoulder. "I _said_, Hermione, that maybe we'd all better get some sleep now, if we're going to stay awake in Sinistra's class," she said loudly. "Where's your brain gone tonight, Granger?"

"Huh? Oh," Hermione said distractedly, getting up. "I'm pretty tired. I guess I didn't hear you. All right, then, let's go to bed."

When Parvati and Hermione got up to the Girls' Dormitory, Lavender was already in her nightgown. "You've had an owl," she said carelessly to Hermione. "It left a letter on your pillow."

With trembling fingers, Hermione picked up the piece of parchment and read it. 

__

Hermione,

If you'd like to, would you meet me at the Three Broomsticks tomorrow on the Hogsmeade visit? I meant to talk to you after the Quidditch match, but somehow you got away on me again. Send word soon.

Draco.

She immediately got up to write the reply. 

__

Draco,

I'll have to be brief (I have an Astronomy lesson tonight). Sure, I'd love to come. Just don't tell Harry. 

Hermione. 


	4. Day 3 of 7

You guys are the best! I'm glad everyone likes this fic so far. Since you've been so nice, here's another chapter!

****

Draco, Flipside

Day 3 of 7

It was almost impossible for Hermione to stay awake in the Astronomy class. She had gone to bed later than she usually did on the nights she had this class, after all. She might have fallen completely asleep if Harry and Ron hadn't have set her robes on fire by accident. 

It was even harder to pay attention to the lesson because she was thinking about meeting Malfoy in Hogsmeade the next afternoon. Why had he asked her to go? He didn't actually _like_her, did he? And what had come over her? She had accepted his invitation! Well, if Harry and Ron ever found out, she'd never hear the end of it.

Finally, at about one in the morning, she dragged herself listlessly back to the dormitory. When she approached her bed, she found another letter on her pillow. Thankful that Lavender and Parvati were too tired to notice her, she quickly opened it.

__

Hermione, 

Thanks! I'll meet you at one-thirty.

Draco.

She groaned. What had she gotten herself into?

"You promise that when you get back, you'll finish helping me?" Neville's big eyes were pleading. He had been banned from this Hogsmeade trip for changing Professor McGonagall's robes into a skimpy stripper's getup. "I know, I've gotten one potion right, but I still don't understand what Snape was saying about the proper stewing of newt tails—"

"For pity's sake, Neville! Of course I'll help you when I come back," Hermione said, smiling. "You can copy the rest of my Potions notes, and I'll show you how to stew newt tails if we have time. All right?"

He beamed. "All right." 

The students arrived in Hogsmeade at about one o'clock, eager to do some shopping. Harry and Ron automatically headed for Zonko's Joke Shop (perhaps they were planning to terrorise Filch by letting off a few Dungbombs in the corridor), and Hermione decided she'd go to the book shop to kill some time. 

She entered Miss Justine's Book Emporium, happy to be finally back in her favourite store in Hogsmeade. Miss Justine herself was climbing an incredibly tall ladder, teetering dangerously as she stocked books onto the shelves. The whole place was warm, cozy, and smelled pleasantly like new books. Hermione sighed and made her way to the stacks. 

As she was thumbing through a particularly large tome, someone laid their hand on her shoulder. She dropped the book, screaming.

"Relax, Hermione! It's only us!" Ron said to her, doubled over laughing. 

"Ron!" she cried out. But she smiled. "Don't do that!" 

He raised his hands in defence. "Hey, sorry!" he said, still laughing. "Malfoy just asked us where you were. He said something about you were supposed to meet him at one-thirty in the Three Broomsticks, and it's been ten minutes he's been waiting…"

She gasped. "Oh! I forgot!" she cried. "I was, um, going to discuss Arithmancy with him. Yeah. He's having trouble and he wanted my help…"

They looked dubious, but they seemed to buy it. "All right," Harry said. "You'd better go. He's in the table that's closest to the back."

"Thanks!" She raced out of the bookstore and straight across the street to the Three Broomsticks. She gave Madame Rosmerta a quick wave and plunked down in front of Malfoy at the table in the back. 

"I'm so sorry!" she panted. "I guess I just lost track of time, and…"

"It's perfectly all right," he reassured her. "I haven't been waiting long."

She breathed a sigh of relief. At least he hadn't thought she was standing him up!

"Anyway," he continued, his voice low, "I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now, Hermione. You see, I've been having trouble with my Ancient Runes class, and I was wondering if you'd maybe like to help me." He lowered his gaze, his pale face flushed pink. 

She gazed at him in astonishment. Was this a trick of some sort? But then she remembered the Congeniality Concoction and softened.

"Sure I'll help you out. But, uh, I'm going to be tutoring Neville tonight, you know, for our test in Potions…"

"How does tomorrow night sound?" he asked her quickly.

"Sounds good."

"All right. I'll meet you in the library tomorrow after dinner, OK?" He smiled and got up. "Thank you so much, Hermione. You're the best!" 

Hermione watched him go, feeling confused. Suddenly, she wanted the old Malfoy back.

"So, how was it?"

Hermione flopped into an armchair in the Common Room. "It was awfully weird," she sighed. "Malfoy's never been so…agreeable before."

Neville grinned. "And all because of me. Well, Hermione, let's get going. Can't study for Potions with you sitting around!"

She smiled at him and opened her notes. "All right, Neville. Let's get cracking."


	5. Day 4 of 7

Day 4 of 7, baybee! Let's do this thang!

****

Draco, Flipside

Day 4 of 7

It was evening again, on Monday night. Hermione had just finished her treacle tart in the Great Hall when she remembered that she'd promised Malfoy she'd tutor him in Ancient Runes. She shoved the rest of her dessert into her face and grabbed her bookbag from under the table.

"Gotta go!" she called to Harry and Ron, sprinting out of the Great Hall. "I'll be in the library!"

She skidded to a halt outside the library, nearly crashing into a coat of armor nearby. She made her way to the tables, finally seeing Malfoy. He waved and she went over to where he was.

"Hi," he greeted her warmly. He already had his books out and was peering at the weird, spiky shapes. "I'm ready when you are."

She took out a book she'd found, _Runes Simplified for Unbelievably Stupid People_, and thumbed through it. "What are you having the most trouble with?" she asked. 

He sighed. "Interpretation," he admitted. "I don't really understand half of the meanings of these things."

Hermione opened the book and found the page on interpretation. "First, you kind of have to understand that these Runes are from the Viking people. They are believed to have come from Odin himself, after he hung on the Tree of Life for nine days and nine nights…"

He listened attentively to her every word, even when she started to delve into the utterly complicated history of the Runes. When she finally did get to how to interpret them, he was still listening to her.

"Well then," she said, pointing to the Rune meaning The Unknown, "is blank. This Rune could mean anything. It just depends on how you choose to interpret it. For instance, if you draw it while wondering about your future, it may mean that you are not meant to know what is going to happen."

"This is almost like Divination," he mused, staring at the pictures of the Runes. 

She smirked. "I haven't much of a liking for Divination. It's a lot of guesswork. But this…it's just fascinating. I don't know if there's much of a difference, but…"

"I understand," he said. "You can see these Runes, and you can touch them. They have an interesting history and they're beautiful and mystical. They're real for you. But as for trying to read your future with soggy lumps of tea leaves and big crystal orbs, you can't really tell what's going on. At least with this, there's a real purpose."

She was amazed to hear this coming from Malfoy. Of course, she wasn't exactly accustomed to his friendly and compassionate manner. "How could you tell that?" she asked in a breathy voice. 

"I can tell," he smiled, looking straight into her eyes. 

There was a tense and uncomfortable moment where Hermione could only look into those storm-grey eyes and wonder how he could read her so easily. 

Finally she shifted her gaze and pulled out a bag of Runes that she'd purchased to help her study. "Let's try interpreting what you read in these," she said, offering him the bag. "Think of something specific, then reach in and pull one out. We'll interpret it together."

"All right." He shut his eyes, put his hand in the bag, and drew out a smooth, round white stone. 

"I know this one means Fertility," he said, "but it also means New Beginning."

"That's right," she encouraged him. "How does it pertain to what you were thinking of?"

He seemed to flush at her words. He mumbled something incoherent and dropped the stone back into the bag.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that," she said. "What did you say?"

He raised his head and looked at her again. "I was thinking about you," he said in a low tone. 

Her breath caught in her throat. "Me?!"

"Yes. You." He covered one of her hands with his. "I'll tell you the truth, Hermione, I didn't ask you to come here because I need your help in Ancient Runes. I'm good enough at them. I asked you here because I wanted to tell you how I feel, away from Ron and Harry. They're already mad enough at me for all the things I've done, and I can't say I blame them…"

"Draco, it's all right," Hermione said. It was the first time she had ever used his first name when addressing him, besides writing him a note back. "They wouldn't care. They're my friends. I'm sure that you could be friends with them too."

He smirked. It was the first less than friendly grimace he had made in four days. "I'm sure. They'd probably hex me. I _know _that Harry has a crush on you, and that sure complicates things."

"Don't say anything more, Draco," she said firmly. "As long as you're telling the truth about how you feel about me. You aren't lying, are you?"

"Hardly."

She suddenly felt a tidal wave of emotions crash over her, and she realized that she really, truly had feelings for Malfoy. "Then I'm okay with it," she said. "And you know what? I think we could actually make it work."

He smiled then, and she was instantly struck by how nice he looked when he wasn't frowning or scowling at her. 

"All right then," he grinned. "Perfect."

With that, he leaned over and kissed her.


	6. Day 5 of 7

****

Draco, Flipside

Day 5 of 7

Harry's eyes went cold as Hermione stepped into the common room that night. "I suppose you and Malfoy had a great time _studying_," he said. There was no mistaking the venom in his tone. 

Hermione abruptly fell off of Cloud Nine and came to her senses again. "Wha…what?" she said, still sounding a bit dreamy. 

Ron glared at her. "You, of all people! I can't believe you, I just can't"

"What the bloody hell are you two talking about?" she demanded. "What have I done that's so earth-shattering?"

Harry sat heavily in a winged armchair and buried his face in his hands. He was clearly too upset to speak to her. Ron, however, had plenty to say.

"YOU WERE SNOGGING MALFOY, YOU STUPID COW!" he shouted at her. His face had turned purple with rage, making his freckles stand out. "Harry went to the library soon after you left, since you forgot your Transfiguration book at the table and he wanted to give it to you. And he happened to come across an interesting scene…your face attached to Malfoy's rat face."

"Congeniality Concoction, my arse!" Seamus broke in. "If the bloke had any good in him he'd _know _to keep away from her!" 

"Stop it! All of you, stop it!" Hermione cried. She went over to where Harry was seated and put her hand on his shoulder. "Harry, please. Look at me." 

"I don't want to."

"Please. I know you're upset because of what you saw. But if you'd just listen—"

He raised his face then. His green eyes pierced hers with a malevolent glare. "What, you want to apologise? Apologise for what, Hermione? For making me believe that you had any feelings for me?" He deliberately turned his face, and pointed absently toward a small end table nearby. "There's your ruddy Transfiguration book. It's got something in it I wanted you to read, but now…I guess it doesn't matter."

Hermione turned to Ron. "What…"

"Get upstairs or something, before I hex you," he spat. He stormed out of the common room, placing a well-aimed kick to her cat's behind as he left. Crookshanks ran, hissing, up the stairs to the Girls' Dormitory. 

She didn't sleep that night, mainly from her confusion over Malfoy's kiss (_"Why didn't I push him away?"_) and Harry's letter in her Transfiguration book. In that letter, he had spilled out his feelings for her in such a beautiful way that Hermione had cried bitterly over the words on the parchment. What did they mean now? Harry would never want her now, not after what had happened. She wished that she had never agreed to "tutor" Malfoy when she had. 

In the Great Hall the next morning, Hermione was slumped over her cold kippers and sausages when a snowy owl landed in front of her. Quickly clearing away the iced pumpkin juice it had spilled with her wand, she took the letter from it. 

__

Dear Hermione,

I am so sorry about what happened. I know what went on in the Gryffindor common room last night, and I'm sorry it had to happen because of me. I'll understand if you don't want to speak to me again. –D.

Hermione glanced at the Slytherin table. Malfoy sat there, head bent over his plate, looking miserable. She had never seen him look like that before, unless you counted the times Slytherin lost against Gryffindor. Was he really that upset over the trouble he had caused between she and her friends? The thought of Malfoy with a conscience was disturbing.

It really didn't help that Parvati and Lavender were spreading the word like wildfire. As Hermione watched the two gleefully chattering away to some seventh-year Ravenclaws, she poked at her cold meal and wished she could hide in a hole somewhere and die.

"Hermione."

At the sound of Harry's voice, Hermione turned around quickly. They were outside, on their way to Care of Magical Creatures. She slipped on the wet grass and fell right on her butt. 

"What do you want, Harry?" she groaned as she got to her feet. 

He ducked his head. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did last night. If you want to be with Malfoy—with _Draco_, I guess that's none of my business."

She managed to look at him squarely. "You mean it? You're not upset?"

Harry grinned. "Cho Chang heard that I was well over you and asked me to go with her on the next Hogsmeade trip. So yeah, I guess I'm not that upset."

"Didn't take you long to get over me, did it?" she teased. 

"I guess not."

Ron came up then, his robes billowing behind him. "What the—"

"It's okay, Ron," Harry said quickly. "We're good."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, then." 

The three friends walked to class, all beaming and feeling better that they had made up.


	7. Days 6 and 7

****

Draco, Flipside

Day 6 and 7

Halfway through Potions the next afternoon, Malfoy made quite the disturbance. 

Professor Snape, knowing that Malfoy was about as tame as a pussycat, paired him with Neville to make Veritaserum. He trusted that Malfoy could do the potion correctly, and since Neville was getting better at it, he trusted him too. 

It was a big mistake.

Halfway through class, Malfoy took a fit at Neville because he accidentally knocked the wrong ingredients into their cauldron. "It's SIX SHRIVELFIGS and TWO pints of ARMADILLO BILE!" he screamed in poor Neville's face. "You STUPID, NO-GOOD son of a—"

"That's enough, Malfoy!" Parvati yelled across the dungeon at him. She whipped out her wand and pointed it at him. "_Ki Porporis!"_

Her spell hit him in the back of the head, causing his mouth to meld shut. But Malfoy had a backup plan. He took the steaming cauldron of wrecked Veritaserum and dumped it over Neville's head. Neville stood silent for about two seconds before his skin started to burn. He screamed like a banshee, and writhed in agony to the floor.

That was when all hell broke loose. 

Ron jumped onto Malfoy's back and punched him. Harry joined in, kicking at him as he lay on the floor. Hermione tried to stop them as Seamus and Lavender joined in, but got hexed with the Vociferous Hex for her trouble by Goyle. It didn't help in the least, because she shrieked out a volley of curses (some she was making up on the spot) and hexed him right back with the Derma Curse. His skin broke out into a green rash and wrinkled up.

"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!!!!" Professor Snape yelled. He brandished his wand. "STOP THIS!!!!!"

"Oh, do shut up," Millicent Bulstrode sneered, hitting him with the Jelly-Legs Hex. He crumpled to the floor, still yelling and trying to freeze them with the Impedimenta jinx, but all he kept doing was hitting the cauldrons.

Harry, Ron, Lavender and Seamus stopped their abuse on Malfoy as Professor McGonagall burst in. "Severus, what the hell is going on in here?" she cried out. "_What has happened? _I can hear you all the way from my classroom, and it's six stories above you!" 

Hermione couldn't stop yelling because of the hex. Professor McGonagall muttered "_Quietus"_ under her breath, turning down the volume on Hermione but not shutting her up. Pansy Parkinson and her gang giggled as Hermione tried yelling at them, but found that her voice was just under a whisper. Instead of trying to do something about it, she went straight to Malfoy (who was unconscious from the gang-beating) and cradled his head in her lap.

"Who is that lying on the floor?" she asked, making her way to where Professor Snape had dragged himself. "Severus, who did this to you?"

"Ask Bulstrode," he grumbled. 

"Thirty points from Slytherin," she snapped at Millicent, who was glaring at her. "Attacking your Head of House, what a disgrace…"

That's when she saw Neville and Malfoy, both knocked out on the floor, with Hermione doing all she could for Malfoy. 

"Draco," she muttered, stroking his pale hair. "Wake up, please wake up…"

He wasn't about to wake up anytime soon, though. He had a bloody nose, and was bleeding from his ears as well. A long, narrow cut ran down his cheek and bruises were welling up all over his face.

"Get them to the hospital wing," Professor McGonagall said sharply. "Severus, you're coming with me to see Dumbledore about this." She took the Jelly-Legs Hex off of him, conjured stretchers for the injured boys, and turned to the class.

"I must say, I'm extremely disappointed in both Gryffindor and Slytherin. The people in this class will go straight to their common rooms immediately, since you have no more classes this afternoon. You will be notified as to what will happen to you, if you were involved with this. Go now."

Harry, Ron, Seamus, and Lavender were in the deepest trouble. Malfoy had been beaten so severely that he had been bleeding internally. Neville's skin had been burned almost to a crisp, so Malfoy was in trouble too. Parvati, for hexing Malfoy, was only given a detention with Goyle and Hermione. Millicent Bulstrode, however, had to scrub out the dungeon, all the cauldrons, and had to help Professor Sprout in the greenhouses after dinner for two weeks. 

After her detention ended around 11:45 PM, Hermione took Harry's Invisibility Cloak (he was still in Dumbledore's office, or she would have asked first) and went off to the infirmary. When she got there, she flattened against the wall near the door and listened.

Madam Pomfrey sounded fretful. "Damn near beat the poor child to death, look at this, and I'm almost out of the medication I've been using all night…"

Something fell to the floor. Cursing, Madam Pomfrey bent over to pick it up. "Only bottle of this potion I have left. If I break it, he'll probably die. Of course, students don't often gang-beat other students, and I haven't had any internal bleeding cases since James Potter fell off his broomstick and into the stands about twenty years ago."

"What did he do to deserve this?" McGonagall asked in a hushed voice.

Hermione could hear Snape's snort of disgust. "He was shouting at Longbottom, then he dumped his cauldron over the boy's head. I don't understand though…why did he act like that? He's been under the spell of the Congeniality Concoction for the past six days."

"Potions wear off, Severus. I'd say Mr. Malfoy has until about midnight before it wears off completely. Who did this to his mouth?"

"Parvati Patil."

"Well, she's one of Flitwick's bets Charms students," McGonagall sighed. "I'll have to speak to him. The Ki Porporis Hex, what a nightmare that one is…I remember, when I was seven, my brother…"

"He may have brain damage, too. Potter, Weasley, Brown and Finnegan were kicking him in the head. If he does, can it be reversed, Poppy?"

"Oh, certainly. Five minutes flat. Here now, my lad, drink this…" 

"He's unconscious. What's the point of talking to him?"

"He'll wake once the potion takes effect, Minerva. I'd say that would be in…oh, five minutes or so."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and stepped into the infirmary. There, she could see Neville sitting bolt upright in his cot, covered in bandages. She had to suppress a giggle, because he looked more like a mummy than anything else at the moment.

"Does it still hurt, Longbottom?" Madam Pomfrey asked kindly.

Neville swallowed. "N—no, ma'am," he gulped. "My skin feels kind of tingly from the potion you put on me, though."

"Well, I'd say it's about time to take the bandages off…up you get, then."

As Neville's bandages fell away, Hermione stuffed her fist in her mouth to stop her laughter. Neville's skin was a florescent purple. As he glanced in the mirror, he almost fell over from the shock.

"Ah, yes…that's a rather embarrassing side effect. All the same, you're cured. I suppose you won't be paired with Mr. Malfoy in Potions again, will you, dear! Off you go!" Neville scurried off, and Madam Pomfrey turned back to Malfoy.

Snape glanced at the clock. "I really must go now, ladies," he said. "I have no doubt in my mind that Albus wants to see me about the, er, disturbance in my class this afternoon. Good night." He swept out, with McGonagall looking scornfully at him.

"Calls himself a teacher…two students nearly got killed…three hexed, four if you count Severus," she muttered.

Madam Pomfrey guffawed as she poured the rest of the potion down Malfoy's throat. "I can't believe I've missed seeing Severus flopping about like a beached whale!"

Suddenly, Malfoy let out a long, low moan. Hermione's heart nearly stopped beating as his grey eyes opened. He gazed around in wonderment.

"Where…"

"Shh, dear. Drink the rest of your potion, there's a good boy…"

She helped him sit up, and he swallowed the rest of the bottle. His face contorted. "Yeuch!" 

"Don't 'yeuch' me. That potion's saved you from internal bleeding and possible brain damage. A little bad taste in the mouth never hurt anybody."

Hermione felt like telling her about Hagrid's last attempt at a treacle tart (where she had ended up sprouting green boils on her back), but decided not to.

"I'm afraid I'll have to leave you for a few minutes," Madam Pomfrey continued. "Minerva and I have to make an incident report…don't forget, you're going to be in a bit more trouble than you expected to be. You're lucky that you didn't get any of that botched Veritaserum in Longbottom's eyes, that would have burned them right out without a damn thing I could do about it." Her eyes twinkled. "Do try and get some sleep. I'll be back in about half an hour."

The moment they left, Hermione threw off the Cloak and sat next to Malfoy. "Hey, Draco," she greeted him warmly. 

He vainly tried to sit up. "Hermione, what happened? Why…?"

"They hurt you pretty badly, Draco. After Parvati hexed you and you dumped the cauldron over Neville's head, they practically mopped the floor with you." She reached for his hand. "Do you remember anything at all?"

"Just you, holding me," he sighed. "Pretty sweet memory, in my opinion."

She laughed. "Well, don't worry. Madam Pomfrey won't let anything happen to you. Nor will I," she added.

He finally managed to sit up, and looked at her with his eyes starting to mist up. "Hermione…don't make me love you anymore than I already do. It could be dangerous," he warned.

She laughed. "That sounds like a threat, _Malfoy._"

"That's Mr. Malfoy to you, love! I didn't spend sixteen years of life on this planet just to be called _Malfoy_!"

They laughed. Suddenly, Malfoy made a face and clutched his stomach.

"Damn potion," he muttered.

At that moment, the clock struck midnight. As the chimes on the clock rang through the infirmary, cold terror gripped her heart. The Congeniality Concoction had worn off. Malfoy was back to normal.

Or was he?

"Draco?" she asked tentatively. "Are you all right?"

"No, I'm not bloody all right!" he yelled. "I've been attacked by Potter and Weasley, my brain's probably even more damaged than it already was, I was _bleeding internally_ to death, for the love of all things creepy…"

"Draco!" Hermione cried, shocked.

"…and I completely screwed up a beautiful girl's friendship with her two best friends!" he continued.

"Draco, honestly, we're all fine now," she said quickly.

He stopped. His face had taken on a strange and serious look. "How did Potter take it?"

"Not well, but he's with Cho Chang now, I guess."

"That's good."

They stared at eachother. "Um, am I supposed to say something?" she said after a while.

"I'll say something, then. I still love you, even though I'm nasty again and even though you'll probably never love me the same way—"

"You're wrong there," Hermione cut in, kissing him.

When McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey came back, Hermione snuck back upstairs. After running into the Common Room, she raced to Harry's dormitory and put the Cloak into his trunk. The moment she was done, the hangings around his bed opened, and Harry himself poked his head out.

"Hermione! That's mine, you know!"

"I know, and I'm sorry. What did Dumbledore do to you?"

Harry looked crushed. "I'm off the Quidditch team for four months. That was the same punishment that Lavender, Seamus and Ron got—four attackers, four months of incarceration without my broomstick. I guess it's fair in a way…we damn near killed him, but it would have been good all the same!" he added, chuckling to get a rise out of Hermione.

She sat on the closed lid of his trunk and sighed. "It's been one helluva week."

"Tell me about it. Malfoy was actually _human_ for a week! Just when I thought I'd seen it all here in the wizarding world, Neville got a potion right for once and not only did it splash Malfoy…"

"Hey, you're right!" Hermione exclaimed. She went over to Neville's bed and pulled the hangings back. The boy sat up and gawked at her.   
  
"Hermione!" 

"I wanted to thank you, Neville."

"For what?" 

"For making this the best week I've had in ages."

She closed the hangings on his stunned expression, gave Harry a sideways wink, and scurried out of the dormitory.


End file.
